I'll Be Home For Christmas
by georgelouisanddragons
Summary: It's Grey's for the Holidays! Arizona is trying to gathering carollers for one of her patients and needs Callie's help to pull it off! This Christmas happens after the plane crash...This is a one-shot story.


"We have a situation here, Karev. All of Santa's little helpers are in the ER!"

Karev snickers. "What happened? Santa crash his sleigh?"

"No, more like mini van full of happy elves versus 18 wheeler. Where am I going to find magical elves to bring joy and magic to the children in such short notice? A day before Christmas Eve?!"

Karev discouragingly shakes his head. "Beats me."

At this moment, I see Bailey turn the corner and walk towards us. I excitedly clap my hands together.

"Bailey! How would you like to help me pla-"

"I am too busy to play pretend right now, Dr. Robbins."

"But it's not pretend, it's…singing! Giving out candy canes! And I know, you have a really good voice!"

"I do not have time-"

"…for a very special boy! Rowan Wilson and he's showing signs of adenocarcinoma. He's been in and out of here for months and he's going to spend Christmas _here_ \- at a hospital! You'll be spreading joy to an amazingly sweet and…very, _very_ sick child."

"Well, do you have anyone else on board…to be your magical singing fairies?"

"I, uh- Karev." I shoot an immediate glare at Karev, causing him to nod swiftly and awkwardly smile. "Callie. Kepner, Jackson, uh…Grey. Even Hunt…with a guitar! Tomorrow. 4pm. In Rowan Wilson's room."

"Sounds like a _disaster_ …that little boy will be wishing all of you were _pretend_. I'll see if I can make it." Bailey frowns and continues to walk past us, muttering under her breath, "Playing _pretend_ in a _hospital_ …"

I drop my guilty smile and start to nervously wring my hands. "Oh shoot! Karev, we have to pull this off!"

"Why'd you lie to Bailey?"

"I didn't Karev. It's going to happen. No one says no to tiny humans."

—x—

I find Callie studying X-ray scans of a fractured femur and pelvis. Her furrowed eyebrows tell me she's deep in thought- either figuring out a sure-fire surgical plan or determining the severity of the breaks. I pause at the door until her eyes lighten and she firmly nods at her scans.

"Oh! Callie! I need you to help me! I made a promise to a very tiny human- "

She turns around in surprise, raising an eyebrow. "Oh? You did?"

"Come on Callie! Rowan is such a sweet and funny child…but, he's starting to get these growths on his vocal cords… I promised him Santa's little helpers would come by and sing with him! If you could only hear him, he has such a beautiful voice…plus, according to studies, happy children recover faster!" I smile widely, trying to highlight my dimples.

Callie sighs, shoving her hands in her pockets. "Okay, fine, what do you want me to do?"

—x—

I've convinced Callie to help me divide and conquer the hospital, to gather as many nurses and surgeons for Rowan's room and fill it with magical festivity and cheer on Christmas Eve.

I run into Owen while he's checking on his post-op charts.

"Owen! Tomorrow. Rowan Wilson. 4pm…and bring your guitar!"

Owen briefly looks up from the binder in his hands, but then quickly looks down again to scribble in his charts. "What? Oh…sorry, Robbins. But I have surgery tomorrow with Grey." He closes the binder, apologetically nods and turns away from me.

"Can't you postpone it? Or move it?" I yell at him, although he's already walking towards the elevators.

The elevator doors open and Hunt dishearteningly responds just before walking onto the elevator. "Sorry Robbins! Can't you ask any other surgeons?" The elevator doors close with a resounding thud behind him.

Shoot.

I don't know anyone else who plays guitar.

—x—

"I'm sorry Robbins, but I need to look after my son! No sitter wants to look after my kid on Christmas Eve!"

I'm trying to convince Bailey to come by tomorrow, just as she about to scrub into surgery. But the conversation is going nowhere. "You could come by for just like 10 minutes…20 minutes tops! He's such an adorable kid- great smile and… a really happy laugh! It would make Rowan's Christmas really special!"

"Nobody is going to take care of my child after daycare! Anyways, if I wanted to make any child's Christmas special and be somebody's magical singing fairy, I'd be at home and singing to my _own_ child!" Bailey shakes her head at me and rushes into the OR, leaving me with my mouth agape.

I heavily sigh. This was much harder than I had anticipated.

I walk out of the OR dejected, turn the corner and run down the main stairway, noticing at the bottom of the staircase are Callie and Jackson, in frantic conversation. As I get closer, the conversation is audibly Callie's attempt to reel Jackson in for the carolling tomorrow. I can tell by Callie's overdrawn eyebrows that it isn't going too well.

"…I'm sorry Torres, but April and I have surgeries, then right after we have dinner reservations tomorrow night." Jackson is visibly flustered.

Callie initially purses her lips, then tries to stare Jackson down. "Can't you just call and make it later? Get ready after…the carolling? This is a very sad and sick child. Do you hear that sound? That's the sound of a sickly, coughing child hacking his lungs out, crying from the pain of-"

"OKAY, okay. I'll talk to April about it." Jackson quickly swivels away from Callie and runs up the stairs past me, noticeably avoiding eye contact.

I bounce towards Callie with a wide smile. "How'd it go with Jackson?"

Callie bites her lip. "No luck. It looks like Jackson and Kepner are out. Derek's teaching all of the interns. And we all know Karev can barely sing, let alone be merry."

I slightly laugh. "Yeah…well, Owen, Grey and Bailey are out too. A lot of nurses are too."

"It's okay…they're all surgeons, all busy with their surgeries. But, you have me! I can put to shame any choir you bring into the hospital-"

I raise an eyebrow. "A choir of one? No one expects just one person to knock on their door and sing to them. It's a bit creepy. Carollers are usually a group of 3 to 4 gay, cheerful people. I don't know if you even could pull that off."

Callie shakes her head and chuckles. "Trust me, Arizona. Angels will come down and bless Rowan's room when I'm finished."

—x—

I was stepping into a supply closet for more gauze, when I suddenly find myself crouched with my back against a shelf, sitting on the cold, hard floor. Hot tears are uncontrollably gathering at the corner of my eyes and now, streaming down my face. I just can't stop crying. I don't even know WHY I'm crying.

I suddenly hear the door behind me open and I try to muffle my ragged crying, try to curl my body into a small ball, so they won't be able to see me.

"Arizona? Are you okay?"

It's Callie.

She doesn't say anymore words and instead, slowly sits down beside me, wrapping her arms tightly around me. Even though it's been probably only 2 minutes, I feel like she's been holding me for an eternity. Her warm and familiar embrace immediately calms me down and it feels _good_. She lays her head on mine and her scent is… _comforting_.

My shoulders heave. "I know what it's like to only have one good limb to stand on. He sings in a gospel church choir. He sings in the shower. He sings when the radio is on… All he wants to do is sing Christmas carols with his Mom, but he won't be able to after the surgery to remove parts of his larynx! The cancer is getting too aggressive…he won't have another Christmas to sing Christmas carols!"

Callie holds me tighter as I push myself into the mould of her embrace. "These are the holidays… a time for magic, for hope, for miracles!"

"I was hoping for his mother to make it from Wisconsin, but she's stuck in a snow storm…so I thought it would be really, _really_ nice if he could get this Christmas miracle. He has such a sweet and amazing voice! But now, he won't ever be able to sing again…not with his mom, with his church choir, with the radio. Ever."

Callie softly kisses my head. "Oh Arizona, it's going to be okay…"

—x—

"NO! I want my MOM! Not HER!" Rowan screams weakly.

Callie and Karev are awkwardly standing at the entrance of the room, waiting to be called upon while I check on Rowan's status. They've agreed to don adorable pointed felt hats, with green and red stripes and, as an added touch, cute elf ears attached to the sides. It's Christmas Eve, 4:00 pm- more exactly 4:15 pm- in Rowan Wilson's room and I'm trying to convince him that Santa's little helpers also consisted of tall, surgical attendings.

"But look Rowan, these two came as one of Santa's helpers to cheer you up…" I try to comfort Rowan by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"NO! I don't even know THEM! Who are they?! They don't even have real elf ears!" Rowan struggles and pushes away my hand. His anguished screams are heart breaking…and I seriously don't know what to do.

"Well, this is Dr. Karev and he's brought holiday pudding for you… and this is Dr. Torres, she's one of the best doctors in this hospital, but she's secretly-"

"NO! NO! NO!"

"….an angel." These words barely fall from my lips as Callie starts to sing the first few lines of "Sleigh Ride." _Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring-ting-tingling too, come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you…_

Rowan's jaw drops, the chaos in the room halts when Rowan stops screaming, as the room suddenly fills with the pearly joy of Callie's voice. He swallows and can't tear his gaze from Callie, whispering to me, "…she's an angel?!"

My eyes widened. I've heard Callie sing before- soft lullabies to Sofia, briefly during the day of the shooting- but not like this.

Her eyes, her honey brown eyes. You get lost in them, like how you would get lost in a really good cup of coffee. There is a radiant warmth in her voice that penetrates the cold air circulating the room, causing a swirl of arias and melody to uplift our spirits. It makes you believe that there is truly goodness and joy in this world.

"That's right Rowan, she is. Santa even specially requested for her to come and sing for you."

After Callie is finished singing "Sleigh Ride," Rowan grins and claps his hands. "Wow! One of Santa's _angels_ came to visit me! That's way cooler than an elf. Can you sing my favourite, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town?!"

Callie chuckles, walks over to Rowan's beside and winks at him. "I sure can, but you have to start!"

All of a sudden, Bailey barges into the room and starts to join Callie and Rowan in their loud rendition of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". Bailey shrugs, then warmly smiles at me. "Ben agreed to look after Tuck for 10 minutes while I came in here."

Not long after, Owen hurriedly enters, waving in a guitar. "Hey sorry, hope I'm not too late. Surgery ended a little early, so Grey and I thought we could spare a few minutes, uh, had some time to help out…" Owen nods, then starts strumming in tune with the collective voices in the room. Grey, right behind him, cracks a smile and even has Yang's face on her tablet, mouthing along the words of the song.

To my delight and genuine surprise, unexpected guests continue to merrily flood into Rowan Wilson's room one after the other, many faces I do not recognize and time seems to slow down, as the hearty laughter and joyful mass singing transforms the room. Rowan's pearly white smile is the biggest I've seen it since he's entered the hospital.

Jackson and April enter the room unannounced as the gleeful crowd decides to sing "Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer." "Yeah, April and I decided we could a be a little late to our dinner reservation and get ready after this." The couple then starts to sing and clap along to the song.

When I didn't think the room could fit any more warm bodies, Derek Shepherd's head pops in from around the door frame. A band of interns follow after Shepherd. My jaws immediately drop in delight as he winks at me, "This is a learning moment for the interns. How to care for your patients. Patient sensitivity." He then turns around to face his group of loyal followers. " All of you are watching exceptional patient care from one of our most outstanding surgeons."

All of the people and noise pull away and began to blur as tears start to well up in my eyes. I cannot describe how touching the scene of joyous celebration and warmth was in front of me. It seemed surreal- familiar and new faces of the hospital joining together in song to bring hope to a little child. How did this happen?

Callie glances over at me and starts rubbing my shoulder. "We make a good team."

I nod and laugh, wiping away tears of happiness and delight from the corner of my eyes. "Yeah, we do."

"I just figured this was a good time to collect a couple of IOUs….Gosh, I miss Mark. He would have loved this."

—x—

After the rambunctious choral gathering had died down in Rowan's room and I checked on his vitals, most of the hospital staff quickly left for their own Christmas Eve plans, while the party of Callie, Bailey and I moved on to the attending's lounge. Bailey had received a fat bottle of brandy from one of her patients as an early Christmas present, and proceeded to dole out generous helpings into our cups in order to celebrate. "Ben has Tuck, I can be a couple of more minutes before going home."

Suddenly, Chief Webber storms into the attending's lounge in a fluster.

We all quickly swallow our drinks and Bailey automatically hides the brandy bottle behind her back. "Chief, it's late…what are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, I was looking for… ." Chief Webber thrusts a dingy and beaten shoebox towards her. "I didn't have time to uh, wrap it. But Dr. Sloa- Mark, wanted you to have this…it's just with all the mess of the lawsuit- and with the hospital- and the residents and attendings, I just left this box behind in my office…I found it while cleaning it out, and uh,…here you go. I haven't open it…ahem."

"Merry Christmas, Dr. Torres. You too, Dr. Bailey and Dr. Robbins. You ladies put on a good performance in Rowan Wilson's room. I think his mother would have be super pleased." He quickly rushes out of the attending's room as quickly as he had came in.

Callie shook the box and barely an audible rustle was heard. Callie laughed, "What on Earth did he put in here?" Excitedly prying off the top, she looks at the contents inside of the box.

"Oh crap."

—x—-

They were letters Mark had written to me, Callie and Sofia. Three letters labelled "To Arizona," "To Callie" and "To Sofia."

Mark of course, being in Plastics, had perfect penmanship. But you could tell he was near the end of his surge when he wrote these letters- his writing was messy, scrawls nearly ineligible on the paper, and his sentences were falling off the edge of the paper.

 **To Arizona,**

 **Don't you bail. I know you'll go through a lot, but let Callie help you get through it. Everything she does, she does with a big heart. She'll turn her life upside down for you if you're not careful. Don't be an idiot and ruin what you have with Callie. She loves you more than anything and you make her happier than anything. If you're going through your worse, she'll take that step with you. So, no running, even if you're scared.**

 **Take care of Sofia, you're also the mother of my child.**

 **Love, Mark**

Mark was still in our relationship, after all this time. Even after he was gone, he found a way.

Callie silently grabs a tissue from the table and- after she's finished reading her letter- starts to painfully sob, while Bailey calmly strokes her shoulder. Callie leaves her letter beside me and I gingerly pick it up to read.

Callie's letter wasn't the mess like mine- the penmanship was impeccable and pristine, but steady, and I knew it was written right after my letter. You could tell he had to dictate this letter to somebody, had a resident or a nurse write this letter for him. Because he wasn't strong enough to hold the pen anymore.

 **To Callie,**

 **I'm sorry, I don't want to die. But, I have some things to say to you.**

 **She's the one. If Arizona was the one under the airplane and you were right there, you would have said the same thing I said to Lexie. I know it. If you love someone, tell them and go from there. I know both of you will suffer a lot from PTSD. Give her second chances when she doesn't deserve them because she's that amazing love in your life. I have never seen Arizona look at anyone else the way she looks at you.**

 **So walk tall. You deserve to be happy. Take care of Sofia, you're a great mom.**

 **P.S. Cheer up! You're hot when you dance in your underwear. Dance more.**

 **Love, Mark**

I initially squeeze Callie's arm, then envelope her in a warm embrace for several minutes. "Let's go home."

She breaks away from our cradle, holding back tears as she attempts to smile, nodding at me.

Rowan Wilson wasn't the only one to receive a Christmas miracle this year.

-Fin-

 **Author's Note:** I really do believe in miracles. Actually, I believe in the universe giving us signs. We just have to stop and recognize them. Take them or leave them. **Please let me know if you've enjoyed this story!**


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